HDTV

[Dobbs 3K 0]

Bit of news...wife and I bought a new bed room TV yesterday:

 

http://www.samsung.com/us/consumer/detail/...d=LNT3242HX/XAA

 

Funny thing...we went to Best Buy and pretty much had that model picked out based on some good reviews, but couldn't find a single blue shirt to help us. I finally said "screw this" and we went over to Sears...ended up paying about 50 bucks less than Best Buy had it at. Pretty happy with it so far. Great picture, even with standard def cable. Hi-def of course looks great (I happened to have a small indoor antenna to hook up to it). Also, I found out that by running the "channel search" on the cable input, we picked up a bunch of channels you don't normally get on the standard cable "subscription" including some of the hi def feeds for the local channels, and all the digital music channels that Charter offers. I guess that's a bonus of having a TV with a built in digital tuner.

[Jaxxson Mayhem 0]

Wow. Whenever I go to Best Buy, I'm swarmed by employees like the Spears family on a big bowl of crazy.

 

I'd rather it be your way than be hounded by em.

[Dobbs 3K 0]

Actually, to elaborate, what happened was that we went there twice...we went there first in the late morning, when indeed, we were approached by like three different employees. One of them was a total typical douchebag CE sales guy. I casually asked him about the Dynex and Insignia models on display, and he proceeded to say "I never recommend them, they're made by Best Buy and they're total junk. They break all the time." I appreciate honesty, but when I worked in sales, that wouldn't have flown, ever. He also did the usual spiel of "You have to get Monster products to protect against power spikes and dirty power" (and continued that line after I told him that I used to sell Monster products), and "You really need to get your $800 TV professionally calibrated so it doesn't overheat", etc.

 

We went back later in the day after catching a movie, and the staff was pretty thin. Glad we ended up going to Sears anyway, in retrospect.

[CanadianGuitarist 0]

That's a bad omen for my forthcoming job interview.

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

I spent over an hour waiting for someone to unlock the cage at Best Buy to get my laptop. I think I told everyone wearing a blue shirt I wanted the laptop but no one had the keys.

 

 

[Craig Th 0]

That's why you need to go to Radioshack. We are awesome.

[Dobbs 3K 0]

Do only some RadioShacks carry laptops and TVs now? The last time I went to the Radioshack in my town, they didn't have any of that on display...pretty much the bare essential type stuff only.

[CanadianGuitarist 0]

My grandfather knows a guy who manages a Radio Shack (which, it turns out, was the one five minutes my house). Two summers ago, he told me the manager said if I wanted a job there, I could have it. I turned it down, thinking 'min wage plus commission probably isn't very much money.' Kicking myself over that one.

 

Still, as much as I loved workin at Wal*Mart, I have to think Best Buy is the better experience.

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

The last thing I bought at radioshack?

 

A massaging pillow for my stepmother about 5 years ago.

 

 

[The Man in Blak 0]

Any impressions or recommendations regarding the Viera line of TVs from Panasonic? I'm looking at this 32" Viera LCD TV and, thanks to some employee benefits, I could actually pick this up for around $700. Would that price be a good deal for the features offered here?

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

Panasonic is either a love/hate brand as far as Im concerned..I doubt theres much difference spec wise from most other brands so if you can get it cheaper then go for it.

[Dandy 0]

My old 53" Panasonic has been amazing for the past 6-7 years.

[CanadianGuitarist 0]

Well, it's happened again:

 

Asked my folks if they were watching anything on the upstairs TV later tonight and if not, if "I could not watch the hockey game downstairs in crappy standard definition." Response from mother: "It doesn't look much different anyway". I was going to agree with them by praising the DNIE processor in their TV (which really does clean up 480i broadcasts), before my stepdad chimed in with "Yeah, and those black bars on the sides; why would anyone watch that when they can have a full picture? I paid for a 63-inch tv, thats what I'm watching".

 

Groaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan.

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

Aww.

 

I feel your pain.

[CanadianGuitarist 0]

As much as I love HD, I see the point people make about not wanting to pay for HD, or being perfectly happy with a standard definition set. Fine. If you're happy with what you have, more power to you.

 

So why did the convo above rankle me? Ignorance! My stepdad paid as much for his TV as he did for his truck, both of which he purchased last summer. He spent hours researching the truck, and now that he has it, he doesn't drive it exclusively in first gear.

 

It would have pissed me off much less if this were a drop in the bucket; I'm sure he's not the only one, that's what makes my head hurt.

 

 

[Jaxxson Mayhem 0]

Digital Channels kick Analog Channels ass. I get the digital channels through my cable box now, but they're way up in the channel numbers. Not all channels are available yet, but the ones they have up are great. You can tell a MAJOR difference between the two. There's no noise on the digital channel.

[NoCalMike 0]

So for blu-ray movies that are 1080p(all of them), if your TV's max is 1080i does that mean the movie is downgraded to the next matching resolution which is usually 720p?

[Dandy 0]

1080i is closer in resolution to 1080p. I used to make that same mistake.

[Thoth 0]

So for blu-ray movies that are 1080p(all of them), if your TV's max is 1080i does that mean the movie is downgraded to the next matching resolution which is usually 720p?

 

It will display in whatever your TV is capable of displaying in its native resolution.

[CanadianGuitarist 0]

Noticed this while looking at LCD's:

 

Is there any reason why a 1920 x 1080 resolution is more common in larger screen sizes? Just a coincidence? Bigger screen size = more money, anyway? Technological limitations?

 

I was looking at 32-40 inch screens; I don't think any of the 32's I looked at had it, maybe 1/3 of the 37's, and about half of the 40's.

[Fartsauce 0]

After researching tv's for several weeks and insanely reading customer opinions, tech forums, advice from friends and looking at prices, i'm strongly considering going with the Samsung LNT 4061

 

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetai...=&langid=EN

 

All I have to do now is go test out the tv in store but I figured i'd ask you guys cause i've lurked in this thread for awhile. Would you recommend this set?

[Thoth 0]

After researching tv's for several weeks and insanely reading customer opinions, tech forums, advice from friends and looking at prices, i'm strongly considering going with the Samsung LNT 4061

 

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetai...=&langid=EN

 

All I have to do now is go test out the tv in store but I figured i'd ask you guys cause i've lurked in this thread for awhile. Would you recommend this set?

 

It has a lot of inputs, but a response time of 8ms makes me sad. I also can't tell if it has a game mode, which would be a deal-breaker for me.

[CanadianGuitarist 0]

The LNT4061 is a great set, and a good price. 8ms is actually pretty good for an LCD. The set I decided on, however, was the 42LB5D.

 

I'm not actually buying either until I buy my house in the fall, but I've spent about two months comparing them. The screen size isn't a stellar difference, and since I'm dreaming right now, the 200-dollar difference in price isn't a big deal, either. The 5ms response is what does the trick for me as a gamer, however - something to consider if you're going to do some gaming.

 

But the 4061 is a great set. Samsung are, for my money, the best put-together sets. As I mentioned above, the DNIe processor does a great job on standard broadcasts. The specs on the 4061 are great (all of the LNT60/70 series, for that matter), along with full 1080p, QAM tuner, great contrast ratio, plenty of inputs - go for it.

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

RIP LCD Technology (soon anyway)

 

Thats a spiffy little TV. Too bad it costs more than the big tv behind it.

[CanadianGuitarist 0]

RIP LCD Technology (soon anyway)

 

Thats a spiffy little TV. Too bad it costs more than the big tv behind it.

 

Pshaw. Consumers are still in the dark on which way to go between LCD and plasma. Add a third technology into the mix? Good luck.

 

 

Introduction into the mainstream? Sure. Success competing with the other two formats? Maybe. "Days are numbered?" Yeah right.

[Guest Vitamin X]

I sure as hell hope not. I like LCDs way better than Plasma.

[Dobbs 3K 0]

OLEDs are years away from being large enough to be appealing, and affordable as well. Now that large sized LCDs and Plasmas are in the sub $2000.00 range, no one is going to pay huge amounts of money for a slightly thinner screen that looks a little better than their TV that is already leaps and bounds better than their last one.

[Perfxion 0]

I finally broke down and got my new HDTV. I went with this one.

 

After a few best buy gift cards saved up from Xmas and birthday I spent 420 bucks for it. So I take it as a great deal.

 

Only problem I have is the somewhat weak sound from the speakers, but my Sony solved that with my 5.1

[CanadianGuitarist 0]

Assuming you got it at Best Buy (based on the price on their website), you got a steal. Even 729 was a good price.

[CanadianGuitarist 0]

I spoke to a few Best Buy guys, and they seemed pretty high on Insignia as well. I guess LG makes a lot of the parts.

 

 

 

 

Keeping in mind that I fully understand the difference between interlaced and progressive, is it fair to equate (for the sake of comparison) 1080i to 540p? I understand that progressive scan is better with fluid motion and whatnot, but if I were to compare 1080i to 720p involving something stable on screen (say, a nature show with lots of still images), is that a fair assessment?